


The Backyard

by domini_porter



Series: Scenes from Domestic Life [7]
Category: Rizzoli & Isles
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-26
Updated: 2018-08-26
Packaged: 2019-07-02 23:30:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,928
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15806748
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/domini_porter/pseuds/domini_porter





	The Backyard

"I  _have_  been to a barbecue before, you know," Maura sighed.

Jane didn't reply. She was staring at two bags of charcoal, deep in thought.

"Jane? I don't think this is necessary at all."

"Mesquite or classic?"

"I'm sorry?"

"I mean, mesquite's pretty good, but classic is . . . well . . . yeah, I'm going with classic." She hefted the bag up and dumped half of it in the waiting grill.

"I have a gas grill, you know. It's got four burners, 54,000 BTUs—"

"Yeah, yeah," Jane said dismissively. "But  _this_ one I get to set on  _actual_  fire."

"It's not nearly as efficient a cooking method, especially for dense meats," Maura replied.

"Maura," Jane set down the charcoal. "Those things you say? That's exactly why we're doing this. I know you've been to barbecues before, but they don't count when they're catered. Even though that barbecue place down on Grantham has really good sauce. It's not the same thing."

Maura frowned.

"Look, I mean, it's not about the food. Okay, well, that's not true, it's  _sort_  of about the food, but mostly it's about setting things on fire. And drinking beer."

"I don't know if those two things should be done at the same time, it seems awfully uns—"

"Don't say it, Maura. Don't you dare say it."

Maura folded her arms and stared off in a different direction.

"Do you think my roses are getting black spot?"

"What?"

"The Amber Flush looks a little mottled. I'm going to get my garden scissors." She turned to go back into the house.

"Maura." Jane's voice was low, steady, deliberately calm. "We are having barbecue practice right now. Tending to your rosebushes is just about the farthest you can get from that while still being outside."

"But—"

Jane picked up the bottle of lighter fluid. "No. You watch this."

Maura's brow furrowed. She glanced at her rosebushes again, then back to Jane. "At least let me do it, then."

Jane cocked an eyebrow. "Really?"

"If I'm not allowed to maintain the health and beauty of my personal ecosystem the least you can do is let me set something on fire."

"Kinky," Jane grinned.

Maura raised an eyebrow of her own, a crooked smile on her face. Jane had to put a hand on the meat table to steady herself.

"Okay, what do I do?"

"Well, you—" Jane pulled Maura close, pressing her body to Maura's back. Her hair smelled like wildflowers. Jane smiled. "Okay, you take the lighter fluid, and you squeeze a little bit on the coals."

"Okay." Maura took the bottle and gave it a hard squeeze, lighter fluid spraying everywhere.

"Jeez, Maura, you want to burn your fancy house down?"

"I'm sorry! I wasn't expecting it to come out so fast."

Jane snorted.

"I just heard how that sounded."

"Oh no," Jane said, breaking into laughter. "Don't even try to take it back."

"I wasn't going to. I stand by my word."

"Uh-huh. Well, we're going to light it anyway, we'll just need to move back a little bit."

Maura pushed against Jane, wriggling slightly. "Like this?"

Jane gulped.

"Yeah, like that."

"Good," Maura murmured. "Now. Let's set it on fire."

"How did I get so lucky," Jane breathed into Maura's hair, managing to just barely brush her lips over Maura's ear.

"Luck had nothing to do with it," Maura said. "You're intelligent, attractive, caring, and I'm told you're also funny."

"Maura!" Jane gasped. "Was that a joke?"

Maura thought for a moment. "Probably."

Jane grasped Maura's waist and pressed her close, kissing her cheek. "Luck had everything to do with it."

She felt Maura shiver under her hands and smiled. "Do you have the matches?"

Maura gasped, but the sound she made was more aghast than amused. "We're doing this with  _matches?_ "

"Well, yeah, what were you planning on doing? Banging some rocks together until you got a spark?"

Maura turned around, her face serious. "First of all, Jane, it's a little more complicated than 'banging some rocks together.' As a former Sprout Trooper I would've thought you'd known that. And second—"

Jane abruptly leaned in and stopped Maura with a kiss. She felt Maura swoon slightly, a faint sigh pushing against Jane's lips. Jane's hand slid around Maura's waist until she was holding the small of her back, pulling Maura's hips tight against her own. Maura made a soft noise that caused the hairs on the back of Jane's neck to stand up and she worked her fingers gently under the hem of Maura's shirt, grinning when her fingertips brushed against Maura's skin. Maura increased the pressure of her body against Jane's, her own hand weaving through Jane's hair. They stood there tangled together for a long moment, until—

"—second, it's incredibly dangerous to put an open flame into such a volatile and comparatively concentrated atmosphere," Maura said, breaking the kiss just as abruptly as Jane had initiated it.

"Well, we've been doing it for thousands of years and the human race somehow keeps going," Jane said, rolling her eyes. "It's easy. And you won't set yourself on fire. I promise."

"What if I set  _you_  on fire?"

Jane stopped and considered this. "I'll watch from inside," she said, turning to go.

"Jane!" Maura cried. "This was your idea. And besides, I'm much safer in general than you are, so even though I've never done it before the odds favor my managing to do it without incident far more than you."

"How have you already given this so much thought?"

"Dr. Smartypants, remember?"

"Uh-huh. Well, firebug, let's give it a shot." Jane waited until Maura turned to get the matches off the table and quickly took a surreptitious step backwards. Just in case.

"At least they're fireplace matches," Maura sighed, sliding the long matchstick out of its box. Jane smiled inwardly at the sight of Maura's fingers delicately grasping the stick, the way she carefully positioned it against the strike strip. "Okay," she said.

"Maura, you're just lighting a grill. It's not the Olympic torch."

"You do it, then."

"No, no," Jane said quickly, in the conciliatory tone reserved for the moments she could sense she was about to lose out on something she wanted very much. "You do it. I'll be good."

"I'll believe that when I see it," Maura muttered, striking the match. She took a deep breath, her face narrowing into a tiny pout of concentration. She carefully extended the match, letting out a brief squeal as the grill roared to life.

"Good job, Maura!" Jane shouted from the other end of the patio, where she'd leapt to avoid being singed by the short-lived inferno, which had already died down to a low glow.

Maura beamed. "Okay, what next?"

"Next we give the coals time to get going. You have to wait until-"

"—until they glow red. I have seen  _fire_  before, Jane."

"Mm-hmm." Jane eyed Maura skeptically. "Which is why you shrieked like a little girl."

"I did not shriek!" Maura cried. "And anyway, look who's suddenly ten feet away."

"You almost set me on fire! I think I got burned. Yeah," she said slowly, a mischievous smile playing at the corners of her mouth, "I definitely got burned."

"Oh?" Maura lifted an eyebrow and licked her lower lip. "Where?"

"Here," Jane said in her most pathetic voice, extending her hand. "On my finger."

"Well one of the most important immediate treatments for burns is to reduce the internal temperature to prevent ongoing damage," Maura said, crossing to her. "Most people think ice is the best solution, but that can add to the body's confusion. You want to return the affected area to normal body temperature as soon as possible." She grasped Jane's wrist gently, sliding her thumb up the palm, drawing Jane's hand close to her. "Hmm, it does look pretty bad," she said with mock gravity.

"Shouldn't you do something? You know . . . doctor-y?"

"Jane, are you asking me to play doctor with you?" Jane could swear Maura batted her eyelashes, just for half a second, and she felt a familiar warmth spreading through her body, extending to the finger with the ersatz burn.

Maura continued to stroke her thumb across Jane's palm as she examined the finger. "I suppose there's a thing or two I could try. These are strictly field techniques, of course; if I was in my lab I could come up with something much more effective."

"Well, give it your best shot."

Maura looked directly at Jane as she leaned forward and carefully captured Jane's finger in her mouth. She didn't stop looking as she sucked gently at the pretend injury, not even when Jane's eyes slid closed and her mouth dropped open just slightly.

"Better?" Maura asked brightly, standing upright again.

"Much," Jane mumbled. She coughed. "Let's, uh, check the coals." She moved to the grill, peered in. "Not yet," she called over her shoulder.

"It's only been a couple of minutes, Jane, of course they're not ready yet."

"So what you're saying is we should have a beer."

"I imagine that's what would be considered most appropriate for the occasion."

Jane nodded. "See? You're getting it!"

Maura shook her head, sighing. "Bring me one too," she said. "If I'm going to do this right."

"How does anyone think white wine with ribs is a good idea? Where does a thought like that even come from?" Jane rolled her eyes skyward. "Next time you invite me to one of your high-class barbecues you're letting me sneak in a cooler. In fact," she said as she went into the house, "you're  _helping_ me sneak in a cooler."

"Fine," Maura called after her. As soon as Jane was inside the house she darted to her rosebushes, frowning as she examined the leaves. "Oh darn," she whispered. "I'll have to call the Garden Society tomorrow morning."

"Maura!" Jane shouted from the doorway. "Step away from the rosebush and come drink this beer."

"All right!" Maura replied, not entirely hiding the anguished note in her voice.

She crossed the lawn and met Jane on the patio. "So what else do you do at a barbecue?"

"Well, you . . . talk, I guess."

"About what?"

"I dunno, sports?"

Maura stared at her blankly.

"Television?"

Nothing.

"Politi—no, let's not talk about politics."

"Why not? I actually know something about politics."

"Because you actually  _know_  something about politics, and they put me to sleep."

Maura bit her lip, thinking.

"So small talk isn't your thing, it's fine. I mean, I already knew that so I had a backup plan."

"Which is?"

Jane grinned again and gently cupped the back of Maura's head, pulling her in for a kiss. Maura murmured in assent.

"This is a good plan," she whispered.

"I know, right?" Jane sat in a deck chair, pulling Maura into her lap. "The key to a successful party is spontaneity."

"I thought it was making sure you had enough alcohol."

"This is very important," Jane agreed. "But spontaneity, that's what really sells." She took Maura's chin between her thumb and forefinger, guiding Maura's face to hers.

The beers were warm and the coals were cold before either of them remembered they were meant to be paying attention. Maura demurely smoothed her hair and buttoned up her shirt while Jane poked slightly desolately at the thick gray ash lining the bottom of the grill.

"I guess I didn't really teach you how to barbecue," she said.

"That's all right," Maura replied straightening her skirt. "There's a place on Grantham that has a really good sauce."

 


End file.
